Foldable, limp-walled article of luggage



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. 18, 1956 H. R. SMALLBERG FOLDABLE, LIMP-WALLED ARTICLE OF LUGGAGE Filed Feb. 15, 1954 INVENTOR. Ham/8.501414%;

LIMP-WALLED ARTICLE OF LUGGAGE FGLDABLE,

The present invention relates to a soft or limp-walled article of luggage, of the multiple use type, generally known as a car bag, in which garments may be hung from one end thereof and which may itself be hung by one end, in extended position, for use as a garment bag, and which may be folded, in another position, along a rigid center, for carrying by hand.

Car bags of the character described have one great advantage because of their convertibility from a folded position in which they may be carried relatively comfortably and conveniently, to extended position in which they may be hung by one end, as a clothes ba-g, during transportation in a vehicle, or at home or at a hotel, to avoid undue creasing of the enclosed garments without the need for unpacking.

Additionally, such oar bags, which are soft or limpwalled, may be compactly folded or rolled, to occupy a minimum of space. This characteristic makes shipping and storage cost for the manufacturer relatively low, because of the small size of the compacted or rolled bag and the small size of the carton required, making the article more economical to the consumer. This charac-. teristic also makes storage for the retail merchant and at home more convenient.

On the other hand, such car bags as heretofore made have had the disadvantage that they may not be stood up, when in folded position for carrying, as when its user desires to pause or rest, without the limp walls thereof collapsing, at least partly, to become ungainly and unsightly and to disarrange and crease the garments contained therein.

-It is the general object of the present invention to provide an article of luggage of the character described which possesses all of the advantages of s milar articles heretofore made, as hereinabove set forth, without the disadvantage pointed out with respect thereto.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a multiple purpose, limp-walled article of luggage of the character described which is convertible to be partly rigid or stiff, so that it may be stood up or rested when in folded position, without collapsing and without distortion of its shape, to thereby be more convenient to carry and to provide greater protection for its contents against creasing when carried in folded position.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an article of luggage of the character described Whose conversion to partly rigid or stiff state does not interfere with its use in extended position but actually renders it superior as a garment protector in such extended posit-ion.

It is another object of the present invention to pro vide an article of luggage of the character described which may be readily reconverted to soft or limp-walled state, to thereby give it the advantages of being capable of compact folding ifOI' shipping and storage, with the resulting advantages of economy in cost and space.

'It is a further object of the present invention to provide an article of luggage of the character described hired States Patent "ice which, when the article is converted into partly rigid state is especially extended and rendered capacious to receive bulky objects, such as shoes, or the like, without creating any bulges in the walls of the article of luggage or misshaping the same, in either of its positions.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a convertible limp-walled article of luggage of the character described which may be converted from one state to another easily and quickly and which may 'be economically produced with relatively little increase in cost over the conventional similar article heretofore made.

The foregoing objects and advantages of the limp-walled convertible car bag of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawing and from the description following. It is to be understood, however, that such embodiment is shown by way of illustration only, to make the principles and practice of the invention more readily comprehensible, and without any intent of limiting the invention to the specific details therein shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of one embodiment of a convertible car bag of the present invention, shown in extended position and partly broken away to show structural details;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same, likewise in extended position and partly broken away to show structural details;

Pig. 3 is a section taken on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an elevational View of the car bag of the invention shown in folded position, as viewed from one side thereof; and

Fig. 5 is a view of the folded car bag of the invention as viewed from another side.

Referring now more specifically to the accompanying drawing, the car bag therein illustrated is of a familiar size .and shape and appearance, in a general way. It comprises a relatively wide front wall 10 of elongated rectangular shape; a rear wall 11 of the same size and shape; relatively narrow, rectangular side walls 14 secured, as by sewing, by their side edges to the side edges of the front .and rear walls 10 and 11; and top and bottom walls 15 and 16 secured by their side edges to the top and bottom edges of the side walls 14, at right angles thereto.

The front and rear walls 10 and 11 and side walls 14 are formed .of any conventional material or fabric generally used for the purpose in the car bags of the prior art, such as any suitable, waterproofed textile fabric, and may be lined or unlined, in accordance with general prac tics in the art.

The top and bottom walls 15 and 16 are also of generally conventional construction, each including a layer of fabric that may be continuous with the front and rear walls or secured to the edges thereof, and a stiffening element or board 17 and 18, respectively, of a width and length equal respectively to the depth and width of the bag, for distending and shaping the end of the bag. The stiffening boards may be made of any material conventionally used for the purpose. The stiffening board 17 of the top end wall 15 also serves as a means for anchoring thereto of a suspension hook 19 on the exterior of the bag and of a garment hanger supporting rack of conventional type on the interior of the bag (not shown).

A stiffening element or board 21 extending the entire width of the bag is also secured to the rear wall 11, at the center thereof; the edges of such board serving as pivot points along which the bag may be folded; the board 21 also serving as means for retaining the bag in distended 3' 7 position, when folded, and as means for anchoring thereto a carrying handle 22. V

The opening to the garment receiving space in the bag is provided by the inverted Ll-shaped slot 23 formedin the front wall 10, forming a flexible fiap 24; such opening being provided with closure means in the form of aslide fastener 25, the tapes of which are secured to the edges oftheslot23. 1 I i The car bag of the invention may be provided with storagespace for flat articles, as shirts, or the like, in

the form of a pocket 26 having an opening in the rear wall 11, inthe form of a transverse slot 27 adjacent the top of the bag, provided with a slide fastener closure 28. The pocket is formed between the wall 11 and a sheet of flexible material of rectangular shape 29, the upper edge of which is secured at or to the upper edge of the slot 27, the lower edge to the wall 11 adjacent the center thereof,

. and the side edges caught between the edges of the rear and side walls 11 and 14, respectively, and sewn together with them. a

I have additionally provided the car bag of the present invention with a pocket for receiving articles of relative bulk, such as shoes, packages, or-the like, adjacent which strip or section of material 33 are secured, respec- V tively, at onto the upper and lower edges of the opening slot 31, and the side edges of which are unattached, to permit the pocket to collapse when empty andto be distended when packed; the side walls 14of the bag serving as sides for the pocket 30, when in distended state,

In order to render the car bag of the invention suffi- 'ciently rigid, when in folded over position for carrying,

to stand up erectly, without sagging or collapsing and, at the same time, not interfere with the foldabilityofthe bag for compact shipping or storage, I provide removable stiffening or rigidifying elements at each'end of each of the side walls 1 extending into the sharp corners formed by the perpendicular arrangement or meeting of the side walls 14 with the top and bottom walls and 16. Such' stiffening elements'35 may be formed of any suitable'rigid material, such as heavy card board, fibre board, laminated wood veneer board, or the like, and may be of a width equal to the thickness of the bag and of a height equal to the distance from the end of a side wall to a point sufliciently short of the board 21 to permit smooth folding of the bag along each edge thereof.

The side sthfeners 35 may be removably held in place, so that they may be removed for permitting the bag to be folded up for mailing or storage. The means for removably holding such side stilfeners 35 in place may comprise a pocket 36,- which may be formed at each corner of the bag by a section of sheet material 37 of suitable width, disposed flatly against the inner face of each side wall 14 at that point, the side edges of which maybe caught or incorporated in the seams connecting the side walls to V the front and rear walls. The pockets 36 may be of sufficient depth to accommodate the greater part of the height of the stiifeners 35, or they may be shallow and supplemented by separable fastening means cooperatively disposed in the stiffeners 35 and the side walls 14, as at 38, to keep the stiffeners 35 flat against the sidewalls and to prevent their being displaced by the weight of the folded bag sections when stood up erectly. If desired, the pocket 36 maybe replaced by one or more loops or by another separable fastener, in a manner readily apparent and not thought necessary to be illustrated.

7 It will be readily apparent that when the stiffeners 35 are set into place into the pockets 36, at each corner of the car bag, as'described above, they will keep the ends of the side walls longitudinally and laterally distended or stretched, so that when the bag is folded over for carrying,

'into two sections, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the'ends of the side walls 14 will not crease or sag and will be rigid, and, with the top and bottom walls 15 and 16 form receptacle sections having bottom portions that are rigid on three sides and capable of remaining in erect, upright position, in the manner of a'hard walled luggage case.

It will also be seen that when the corner stitfeners tionallyprovided with means for distending the rear. wall 11, which becomes the outer Wall of the car bag' when it is folded'over for carrying, to aid in keeping the two folded sections from buckling or bulging when standing erect, and which will not, at the same time, in-

terfere with the compact folding enrolling of the empty car bag for shipping'or storage.

7 Such means may comprise stifily resilient bars or rods '39 secured transversely across the entire width of the rear or outer wall 11, at least one for each folded half of such wall, and preferably along its outer surface. Such bars 39 maybe 7 held in pockets formed by strips of fabric 40, which are appearance of the car bag when; in folded, carrying" secured by their edges to'the rear wall 11, as by sewing. Such bars or rods 39 may comprise strips of spring steel or plastic or other suitable material of desired a thickness. For maximum effectivenesathe pockets 4!) may be disposed approximately even with the inner terminals of the stiffeners 35, when in place. 'It will be seen that such spring bars 39 will tend to keep the upperportion of the outer face of each folded bag section distended against creasing or buckling and enhancingthe rigidifyingeffect produced by the rigid top and bottom walls 19 and 11 and the stiffeners 35 and also enhancing the position. Y v

To enhance the utility and practicality of the'car bag of the presentv invention, the top and bottom walls 15 and 16, onwhich the bag rests when folded, maybe provided with externally projecting studs 41, to prevent scuftary arrangement, for ease and convenience as well as compactness, for carrying. a

This completes the description of the car'bag' of the present invention. It will be readily apparent that numerous variations and modifications of the car bag of the present invention may be made by any one skilled in the art, in accordance with the principles of the invention hereinabove set forth and without the'use of any inventive ingenuity. I desire, therefore, to be P otected for any and all .such variations and modifications that the character described, including limp front wall, rear wall and side walls and rigid top and bottom walls, said top and bottom walls and said side walls secured at right angles to one another, means for rigidifying the end sections of said article of luggage to enable it to 'rest erectly on its top and bottom walls when in 'foldedstate, comprisingfiat, rigid stiffening-elements of a width equal approximately to the width of a sidewall and of 'a height less than the height of a folded section of said'artieleof r luggage, and means for removablyretaining ones-of said stifiening elements in-each corner of said article of luggage flatly against the inner face of the side wall at said corner, and means for retaining the outer wall of each folded section in distended position comprising a relatively stifi resilient bar element the width of the outer wall of said article of luggage and a pocket formed on the outer wall portion of each folded section, transversely thereof, for retaining said resilient bar element in place.

2. In a foldable, limp-walled article of luggage of the character described, including limp front, rear and side walls and rigid top and bottom walls, said side walls and said top and bottom walls secured to one another at right angles, means for rigidifying the end sections of said article of luggage to enable it to rest erectly on its top and bottom walls when in folded state, comprising fiat stilfening elements of a rigid material of a width equal approximately to the Width of a side Wall and of a height less than the height of a folded section of said article of luggage, and means for removably retaining one of said stiffening elements in each corner of said article of luggage flatly against the inner face of the end of the side wall'at said corner.

3. The article of luggage of claim 2, wherein said means for retaining said stifiening elements comprises a strip of fabric secured by opposed edges thereof flatly against an end portion of each of said side Walls to form a housing for said stiffening element.

4. The article of luggage of claim 2, wherein said means for retaining said stiffening elements includes 00- operating separable fastener elements on each of said stiffening elements and on said side walls at each corner of said article of luggage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,691,905 Gamble Nov. 13, 1928 2,002,638 Lee et al. May 28, 1935 2,003,100 Arpin May 28, 1935 2,025,101 Halpin Dec. 24, 1935 2,086,895 Cart July 13, 1937 2,533,333 Kitson Dec. 12, 1950 2,606,636 Braverman Aug. 12, 1952 2,689,631 Marks Sept. 21, 1954 2,702,105 Ritter Feb. 15, 1955 

